Betrayal, episode rewrite
by Punktassium
Summary: Written for a contest, a different take on how Terra's betrayal might have gone. What was going through her head when she betrayed her friends; why did she do it? (complete)


"**Betrayal"**

Terra lay on the couch in her room, counting the dots on the ceiling. Two hundred twenty-five, two hundred twenty-six, two hundred twenty-seven, two hundred twenty-eight…

Her head flopped apathetically to the side. As she brushed the hair out of her face, she sighed. _"Slade…where are you,"_ she thought to herself. _"When is it time, Slade?_" The thoughts kept spinning. Tonight was the night she would betray her only friends. Tonight was the night she'd leave the only one who ever loved her. Tonight…

The rapping at the door almost made her jump out of her skin. "Uh, j-just a minute!" Closing the laptop and stuffing it back under the couch, she jumped over it and presented herself at the door. Shaking her head to regain her composure, she pressed the button to open it, putting on the best happy Terra face she could muster. The light from the hallway flooded her room, causing her to blink a few times.

Beast Boy stood in front of her with the same cheesy grin he always wore. That smile on his face tore her apart inside. It wasn't just the way he smiled, it was the way he cared about her. None of this was right. None of this needed to happen. She couldn't betray the Titans, but she owed Slade.

"Beast Boy! What's up?" _Flash that smile, Terra. There you go. Cock your head slightly to the side. Perfect._

* * *

Beast Boy jogged down the hall to Terra's room, doing his best not to seem too eager. _"Don't be a goober, B. She's just Terra. She's your best friend, no reason to act any different from normal. Just give her the box, and she'll fall for you! Yeah, that sounds right."_

Stopping for a moment, he took a deep breath and knocked on the door. The knock, however, came out like more of an angry rap. _"You idiot!"_ He listened as she took her time coming to the door, finally opening it with her perfect smile on her face.

"Beast Boy! What's up?" He watched as that strand of hair fell across her face the way it had so many times before.

"Uh, hey Terra!" Moments passed as he silently stammered for words. As Terra raised her left eyebrow in confusion, his heart started racing.

"Beast Boy? Are you okay?"

"YEAH! Perfect! I'm great, Terra, how are you!"

"Uh, I'm fine, thank you." Her face softened momentarily, hardening again as she quizzically looked at Beast Boy. "…Listen, do you… wanna come in?"

Beast Boy stammered for a few moments at her proposal. "In? Like, in there? In your room? With you!" He could feel the beads of sweat rolling of his face.

"…Yes, Beast Boy. In my room, with me. You've been in here a thousand times before, why is now any different? Are you sure you're okay?" _"Are you sure you're not on to me?"_

"OH! N-n-no, Terra, nothing's different! Let's go in your room like we always do!" Putting on the biggest grin he could muster, he proudly strutted into the room. "See, now I'm in your room, as I have been many times before! Nothing is different!"

Terra turned back into her room, closing the door. A look half-filled with questioning, half-filled with amusement crossed her face. "Mm, if you say so," she said, winking. Hurdling the couch once more, she patted a spot next to her. "Wanna sit?"

His eyes widened; the sweat fell even faster; his mouth went dry. "S… sure! Yes! I'm a fan of sitting on couches!" Woodenly, he lowered himself onto the couch a few feet away from her. He still felt so nervous; he couldn't even look at her, much less act as casual as usual.

Moving closer to him, Terra put her feet on the table in front of her. "So, what's up? How come you're acting so weird tonight? Something on your mind?" Something was definitely wrong, and it was really putting Terra off, to say nothing of the way it was scaring her. Perhaps he really did know what she was up to. Had the Titans been spying on her? Did they know where she went during the middle of the night? Was Beast Boy following her then?

"Terra, there's something I need to tell you."

Oh god, this was it. They knew. They knew, and now they were going to kick her out. Or worse, they were going to beat her like Slade did. Slade. Oh no, what would he think? What was she going to do? First, she let the Titans find out her secret and now she had failed Slade. This was not good, not good.

"Terra, will you –"

"Beast Boy, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I never wanted this to happen!" The tears practically flew out of her eyes as she grabbed Beast Boy's arm, sobbing into it uncontrollably. "I'm so sorry!"

Beast Boy shuddered. "So, I guess that means you don't like me, then? Aww, man! I knew it!" Never the one to pick up on subtleties, Beast Boy hung his head in abject shame.

"I… what? OH! Oh god, of course I like you, Beast Boy! I thought you meant -" _"Crap, Terra! Think of something! You can't blow this now!" _ "I thought you were talking about how I … didn't help the team as much today when we fought Slade's robots." Pulling some hair behind her face, she wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled the best fake smile she could muster. "I'm sorry. I want to help you guys so much and be a part of the team, but sometimes I don't feel as good as the rest of you, you know? Sorry I freaked out, heh."

Looking into her eyes for the first time since he'd entered her room, he brightened, beaming from ear to ear. "So, you do like me? You wanna go out this Saturday! It'll be great, I swear!"

"Beast Boy, I –"

Another rap at the door interrupted whatever thought happened to be running through her head at that moment. Frightened, Terra smiled at Beast Boy and got up off the couch. "It's probably just Robin, heh." Walking to the door, she swallowed and opened the door.

The figure in front of her made all of the colour in her face drain away; she could have sworn her heart skipped a few beats. "No…"

"Why, hello, Terra. I do hope I'm not interrupting." Peeking inside, Slade found a very stunned and confused Beast Boy. "Oh, Beast Boy, how good of you to join us. I was hoping you'd be here for this."

Terra felt like she was going to faint. This could not be happening. _"Maybe I could run for it. I could run away again, where no one would know me. No one would know what I've done to my friends, or what I've done to all the cities I went to before. Run, Terra, run! Why won't you run! RUN!"_ Her legs wouldn't move. Nothing would cooperate. The only thing that kept running was her brain, spinning the thoughts over and over in her head.

Beast Boy's expression dropped from confused to angry. "TERRA." She winced at the sound of his voice. She'd really screwed up this time. "Terra, what the hell is going?"

"Thank you for asking, Beast Boy. You see, your little girlfriend here happens to be my apprentice. I really do think she's done an excellent job. Much better than your little leader, if I do say so myself. And speaking of whom, where is he? I'd love for him to join us. Frankly, I'm hurt he hasn't found his way here yet. Oh, and if you would, tell Cyborg he really ought to do something about that security system. Terra was able to disable it with almost no problems. Tsk, tsk." Slade's voice dripped with cynicism and contempt. He couldn't help but smirk to himself as he spoke. He really had improved with Terra as his apprentice. It's always the quiet ones, right? A little well-placed doubt here, a few false promises there, and you've got them in the palm of your hand.

His smirk turned to a full-on grin as he turned his face to look down upon Terra. "Thank you, apprentice, you've done well. Perhaps you'd like to go sound the alarm for your little friends?"

Terra's head was still reeling with the impact of everything that had happened. She felt like she had aged years in those last few moments. What had she done? What was she going to do? Reluctantly, she squeaked out the words. "Yes, master." Somehow, she forced her legs to work, and ran down the hall toward Starfire's room.

Beast Boy watched as Terra ran woodenly out of the room. What was happening? Terra was a spy? How did Slade get in the tower?

"Good. Now, Beast Boy, I don't believe you and I have ever really spent time together. Terra's told me all about you, and how you fell for her little act hook, line, and sinker." Slade cocked his head up a bit toward the ceiling. "She's such a good little actress."

Beast Boy had never been this confused in his life, not even when he had to learn Algebra. None of this made any sense at all. How could Terra have been a spy for Slade? Why would she do it?

"I can see your little brain is doing its best to figure out what's going on. It's not hard, really, but I can see how it would be a challenge for someone like you."

Slade chuckled to himself as he watched Beast Boy change into a ram and attempt to charge him. As Beast Boy was about to hit, he merely stepped nonchalantly to the side. Resuming human form, Beast Boy punched Slade with every bit of strength he could find within himself.

"What have you done to her!"

Grasping Beast Boy's wrist, Slade leaned over to look at him eye-to-eye. "It should be quite simple to figure out. I gave her everything she wanted, which was everything you couldn't give her; control, power."

Ripping his hand away, he changed into a lion and slashed at Slade repeatedly. Slade simply dodged every hit effortlessly. Cocking his arm back, he punched Beast Boy in the chest, knocking him backwards, sending him flying back over the couch. Beast Boy screamed, both out of hurt and rage. How could Slade have done this to Terra? How could Terra have done this to him? He trusted her, they were friends. Had their entire friendship been a lie?

He couldn't speak; he couldn't form a coherent thought in his head. _"I… wha… Ter… Sl…"_ Every thought he thought got caught up in another one, which ended up being blindsided by another though. His hands were shaking with fear and anger. Changing into a pterodactyl, he flew at Slade once more. In his mind, he saw himself slashing Slade's face. Then he would grab Slade's shoulders, picking him up just long enough to toss him full force into a wall. Once Slade was knocked out, he could rescue Terra from this, from herself, from whatever Slade had done to her. She'd never agree to this, she couldn't have.

Slashing Slade's face had gone according to plan, but he wasn't planning on being the one flung into the wall. Grabbing his claws, Slade spun him around, smashing him into the wall.

That masked face was the last thing he saw as he blacked out. "Ter…ra"

Kneeling, Slade placed his face inches from Beast Boy's. "You weren't really planning on being the hero, now, were you? She doesn't need you to save her." He stood, kicking Beast Boy in the side as he left the room. "In fact, she doesn't need you at all. Why would she, when I have given her everything she needed?"

Holding onto his side for dear life, Beast Boy turned onto his side, screaming as the world went black.

It was time to start pretending again, Terra. Time to put on that face you wear every day and play their game, play Slade's game. "Starfire! Starfire, help! Starfire!" Her leaden legs carried her at the rate of a three-towed sloth, her voice the only thing she could hear echoing down the hallway. "Starfire! Slade! Slade is in the tower!" She banged as hard as she could on the door. "Starfire, where are you?" She felt the tears form behind her eyes. "Star… why won't you help?" Her voice, no longer loud and confident, now echoed only her own fear. "S…tar?"

To whom was she to run now? How would she convince someone that Slade had gotten into the tower? Only Star and Beast Boy would believe her with no questions asked. Robin would interrogate her; Cyborg would wonder how his security system had failed. And Raven? Well, it was unlikely Raven would have even opened her door for Terra.

"Star… Star, please. You have to play, Starfire. Help me." The words came out as nothing more than a whimper. She felt like a frightened little girl again, run out by even her own family. No one was going to answer her calls.

She couldn't stand, she couldn't move, she couldn't even find the strength to cry. Everything seemed to be ending.

Footsteps down the hall made her curl up in fear. Huddled against Starfire's door, she waited as the footsteps quickened and approached her. The voice echoed in her ears, making her curl more into the door, hoping she could melt away if she huddled close enough.

"Terra! Terra, what's going on? What were you shouting about?" Robin kneeled beside her, putting his hand on her shoulder, trying to make her look at him. She screamed in fear and curled into herself even more as he touched her. "What's wrong? Why are you –"

The swift kick to the face caught him off-guard. He hadn't even heard Slade creep up on him, and now he watched as Slade kneeled over Terra, his face right up against hers.

"My, my, how strange that I keep finding you like this." Kneeling next to Terra, he took her chin in his hand, pulling her face away from her shoulder. "Look at me! Get up off that floor!" Snatching her arm, he pulled her forcefully up until she was on her feet. "Stand and fight, apprentice!"

"Get away from her!" Pulling out his bow staff, he swung it as hard as he could at Slade, hitting him directly in the back of the head.

Quickly snapping his head to the side, he cracked his neck and turned his head to look at Robin. "Didn't you ever learn any manners, Robin? It's very rude to interrupt someone when they're speaking to someone else. Wait your turn, there's plenty of me to go around."

Terra whimpered, trying to hold herself steady on legs that refused to cooperate. Slade's grip on her arm was starting to make it feel numb. He kept screaming at her to fight, to stand, to make him proud of his apprentice, but nothing was registering in her head. Every word simply floated about in her head, never finding a resting place. All the emotions she thought she could feel were running through her.

What had Slade done to Beast Boy? She heard his horrific scream, then Slade's boots tromping down the hall. How had Robin managed to hear her yelling and crying from the living room? He had been playing Gamestation with Cyborg, and the living room was on a different floor on the completely other side of the Tower. Was Robin on to her? Had he followed Slade in here? How did Slade get in?

"**Apprentice!** Do not make me tell you again, **fight!**" Slade had just about lost his patience with her. Releasing her arm, he slapped her face with the back of his hand, bringing his face inches from hers. She could hear him breathing through the mask as he stared at her. It made her sick to her stomach to think that she willingly let him treat her this way, let him convince her that she owed him for the way he helped her, told her she must betray her friends before they betrayed her. They had been so kind to her.

But they had betrayed her. Beast Boy told Robin her secret, and never apologized for it. Slade really had helped her control her powers. She wasn't afraid of them anymore now. It would have been horrible of her to say no to him after all he had done for her. She sniffled, wiping the tears from her face. This was silly; there was no reason to act this way. Now was the time to strike. Whatever Slade had done to Beast Boy, he probably deserved. And what right did Robin have to hit him like that?

The time was now. All they had planned was about to come to fruition. _"Now or never, Terra."_

Robin stood, speechless, as he watched Slade beat Terra in front of him. He had to step in and do something, but hearing her called "apprentice" caused him to stop. Terra? A spy? Was Slade holding her against her will, as he had done to Robin?

The final smack to her face seemed to cause something to snap inside of her. No longer was she crying and unsteady on her feet. Now she looked ready to fight. A sadistic smirk crossed her face as she locked eyes with Robin.

"Hmm. Trying to figure out how I came to be Slade's apprentice, right? You really should stop spending so much time overanalyzing everything, Robin, or you'll never be prepared for a fight."

He just barely managed to dodge the slab of rock as it nicked the back of his head. Falling over, he caught himself on his hands and flipped himself back upwards. "Terra, what is going on! What did Slade do to you?"

"Oh, nothing, really, Robin. Just found a better apprentice, is all. One who's not devoted to stupid friends and hung up on little puppy love crushes." Raising her arms above her head, she screamed as she brought a large chunk of the roof of the Tower being brought down upon Robin.

Rolling to the side, Robin managed to elude most of the roof. "What are you talking about, Terra?"

"You're weak, Robin. You're a piss-poor excuse for a leader, and you run away from the power that deep inside you seek. You want it all, Robin. You want the respect, you want the power, and most of all, you want the girl."

Emerging from the shadows, Slade was positively grinning. Placing his arm on her shoulder, he gave it a little squeeze of encouragement. "Well done, apprentice, well done. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like him to myself, hm?"

Running full tilt at Robin, Slade jumped, kicking Robin in the chest. As he fell, he kicked his face, his side, his stomach, any body part that happened to come near either of his feet.

"Come now, Robin, you can do better than this."

Starfire came flying as fast as she could the moment she heard the commotion. "Terra! What is the cause of the noise?" Landing next to Terra, she looked into her friends eyes. "Do you know, Terra?"

"Oh, yes, Star, I know exactly what's going on." With much less than a flick of her head, she hurled a rock into Star's head. The Tamaranean stumbled, rubbing her head where the rock had hit. "Oof!" Falling backward into the rubble, she backed away from Terra slowly, stunned.

Starfire stared across the pile of rock and rubble at Terra, who pretended to check her watch. "Do you mind? I've got places to be, and cities to conquer, and you're making me late."

"Friend, why are you attacking me?" Starfire's eyes began to cloud with the beginnings of tears. "Do you not like me anymore? Did you not enjoy my homemade glorb? Di-"

"Oh shut up! I've had just about enough of your little 'cute and innocent' act, you ditz." Cutting her friend to shreds with her words gave her a sick, sadistic satisfaction. _"Push her buttons, Terra. Go on, keep prodding."_

The tears, slow as they came, rolled down Starfire's cheeks and she squeaked out her words. "Friend… why do you say these things?"

Starfire's tears caught Terra off-guard. Part of her felt horrible for the poor girl. Why **was** she saying the things she was? Why was she attacking her? Starfire had never been anything but amazingly nice to her, and here she was, verbally ripping her to pieces.

_"Oh grow up, you wimp. Why are you feeling sorry for someone like that? Emotional attachments make you weak, and she's as weak as they get. She'd trust anything that moved, even if it bit her hand off."_

"Because. You deserve it." Leaning over and rising once again, she pulled the ground out from under Starfire and sent the pile of rubble in front of her straight at her.

Starfire screamed the most horrendous scream Terra had ever heard. It was a scream of pain; not just from being physically crushed by so much weight, but of the pain of being betrayed.

Minutes earlier, Cyborg had recruited Raven to help him put in some new shocks on the T-Car. Stepping into the elevator, the two chattered away as the doors closed behind them.

The shuddering elevator stole their attention from laughing at Beast Boy to whatever was making the sounds on the roof above them. It sounded like one person walking on the roof, but they had heard two thuds.

Cyborg looked up, raising his right arm to the level of his eyes to see who or what was above them. Narrowing his eyes, he beckoned with the other hand for Raven to levitate closer to him. "Rae," he whispered, "it says it's Robin and Slade. How the hell did Slade get in the tower?"

Raven opened her mouth to speak, but the tearing of metal jarred her thoughts from her.

"You'd be surprised how easily it is to get in here, Cyborg." Slade ripped the escape hatch off the top of the roof, tossing Robin's body at Raven. Effortlessly, Slade jumped into the elevator, catching the back of Cyborg's head with the heel of his foot on the way down. Caught completely off-guard, Cyborg had no time to brace himself and soon found his face slammed into the metal of the elevator floor.

The elevator stopped, causing everyone to stumble momentarily. Raven cried out as she fell over onto Robin's near unconscious body. There was nothing for her to throw at Slade but the walls and roof of the elevator. So be it.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" The roof of the elevator crashed upon Slade's head with a hard thud. His head snapping to his left, Slade turned his attention to Raven, though not before kicking Cyborg in the head once more.

"My goodness, the little birdie thinks she can save her friends." Slade's eye narrowed as he smirked.

The sound of her teeth grinding timed perfectly with the rocking of the elevator. There was nothing left to throw at him that didn't risk them being thrown stories below to their deaths. She looked upon Robin's body, wondering how Slade could have defeated him this easily; Cyborg lay half-unconscious mere feet from her; Starfire, Beast Boy and Terra were nowhere to be found. Terra. _"That little traitor! I knew it! I knew she couldn't be trusted!"_

Her rage found a new foothold somewhere in her mind. She couldn't control the way it spread like a cancer throughout her mind; so quick, so freely. It was so easy for it take her over. She knew the price she paid by letting it find a home within her mind, but she couldn't deny the pleasure she found in it. That little - ! Oh, she'd get hers, all right.

Fire burned in Raven's eyes. Her expression changed from a fearful glare to a perverse, vicious grin. Raising herself up, she towered above Slade, her head turning ever so slowly to the side as she smiled her barbarous, rage filled grin. "The little birdie plans to do much more than that!" Cloak billowing about her, the demonic tendrils gleefully found their way to Slade's ankles.

Terra's footsteps echoed throughout the hallway as she found her way to the elevator. Finding the doors already smashed through, she looked down to find Raven having one of her little freak-outs on Slade. Robin appeared to be completely unconscious, but Cyborg was attempting to stand and fight Slade.

"No!" Ripping out the ground next to her, she sent the boulder flying at Cyborg's head, half-hoping she'd hit Raven and Robin with it as well. _"Two birds with one stone," _she chuckled to herself.

Cyborg heard her scream, looking up just in time to dive out of the way. "Raven, look out! **Raven!**" Leaping, he grabbed Raven around the waist and shielded her and Robin with his body. "Raven, snap out of it!"

The sound of his voice brought her back to reality. The rage subsided momentarily, wondering who had disturbed it and why it had denied it the pleasure it so desperately sought.

Raven looked around the elevator to see Slade shaken up, but still attempting to stand. Upon looking up, she found her real target. The rage took hold again. Her eyes flashed red as she let out a sound that half sounded like a laugh and half sounded like a scream. "Oh, Teeeerrra!"

Slade stood, if a bit bewildered. Terra was feet above them all, looking dazed, confused, and stupid, but what else was new. "Apprentice!" He barked out his order, bringing Terra's attention away from Raven's rage. "Let's go, Apprentice!" Leaping, he found a foothold and jumped onto the remnant of the roof.

Commanding a boulder to pick up her master, Terra watched as Cyborg shot his cannon at Slade. The ground gave beneath Slade's feet as the boulder reached him. "Ta-ta, Titans. We'll meet again soon." The boulder deftly dodged Cyborg's cannon shots and Raven's attempt to shoot debris at the two of them.

Reaching the top of the elevator shaft, Slade vaulted back onto the solid ground of the hallway. "Say goodbye to your little friends, Apprentice." Seizing her arm, he clutched it tightly, glaring into her eyes. "Destroy them, Apprentice. Do not fail me." Taking off down the opposite end of the hallway, Slade was gone before Terra had time to form a thought.

Looking down upon her friends in the elevator shaft, she once again felt torn. Cyborg had brought Raven back to reality, and she now looked to be doing her best to revive Robin. Cyborg stared her straight in the face, his expression a look of anger and confusion.

She couldn't do it. Half-heartedly, she threw a boulder down upon the shaft but didn't bother to watch it and see if it did its job. Tearing a hole through the roof, she brought a rock beneath her to carry her away. She heard Cyborg yell something as she rose away, and Terra figured Raven had caught the boulder with her powers and destroyed it.

It didn't matter that she had failed. Nothing mattered anymore. She had betrayed everyone, destroyed the friendships and trust she worked so hard to build; she destroyed the love she carried for the five other residents of the tower; she destroyed her only home. Everything she held dear was gone.

Landing on a plateau, she turned back to look upon Titans Tower. The lights that were normally so bright now flickered like the stars in the sky. In that moment, Terra felt as though a part of her soul flickered like those lights. No, it wasn't that. She felt as though she didn't even have one anymore.

The cold, hard Earth trembled beneath her feet. She was again alone, as she had learned to be.


End file.
